National Day of Prayer to be observed May 7

Scot WallReligion Columnist

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, April 18, 2009

Last year, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics, filed a lawsuit against former President George W. Bush, the governor of Wisconsin and other officials over the federal law designating a National Day of Prayer - an annual event observed on the first Thursday of May every year.

The suit alleges that presidential and gubernatorial proclamations of a National Day of Prayer are unconstitutional because they violate the Establishment Clause’s separation of Church and State.

Here we go again. A group is using the Establishment Clause to suppress religious expression. When will this lunacy ever stop? I feel like the United States has entered the world of Alice in Wonderland where down is up, in is out and freedom of religion is oppression.

In one corner we have the American Civil Liberties Union representing the FFRF. In the other corner we have the Alliance Defense Fund representing NDP Coordinator Shirley Dobson and others in this ridiculous lawsuit.

The main view of the FFRF’s argument is that Christians have hijacked the NDP. But consider this: Prayer in Congress and by presidents and proclamations of the same have been a regular part of our nation’s history. And to have a group of people say, “Hey, we are supportive of you leaders who step up and pray to our Creator and show our dependence upon Him. We will to get behind you and organize groups to pray for and support you and our nation” cannot be seen as a “hijacking.”

It is just as absurd as saying that Christmas was hijacked by Christians — which in this Wonderland we find ourselves may not be too farfetched.

From the beginning Christians were at the forefront of seeing the NDP become an annual event. It was because of the successful lobbying efforts of Vonette Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and others with her that a bill was unanimously passed making the NDP a permanent fixture on the calendar. It has become a national observance placed on all Hallmark calendars and observed annually across the nation.

And it was the same Vonette Bright who asked Shirley Dobson (wife of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson) to take on the responsibility of guiding an organization to help coordinate observances of the NDP in its infancy of the early 1990’s until today. This year, there are over 40,000 coordinators who are helping mobilize Christians to pray.

Of course there are some who feel that if the government proclaims it and Christians observe it, then it is a violation of the separation of Church and State. What jabberwocky!

The first national day of prayer was declared by the Continental Congress in 1775. Our nation’s founders who wrote the Constitution of the United States, including the First Amendment, were some of the most dedicated Christian men of prayer — and primarily within the halls of government.

Our founders prayed and encouraged others to pray to God, and not to just any god. Read their prayers. The prayers offered were clearly Christian and to the God of the Bible. They recognized that praying to just any god, like the god of the baseball bat (see my April 2, 2008 column entitled, “There is no power in prayer, only the object of prayer”) is useless. But of course, people are free to pray to whatever god they wish.

Days of prayer, thanksgiving and fasting were continually proclaimed by presidents over the next 180 years. Then on April 17, 1952, both houses of Congress passed — unanimously for the first time in U.S. history — a bill enacting a National Day of Prayer. The bill, signed into law by then President Harry S. Truman, required the president to proclaim an annual day of prayer of his choosing each year.

And after the efforts of many Christian leaders, Senate bill 1378 amended the 1952 law to permanently designate “the first Thursday of every May” as the National Day of Prayer. It was signed by then President Ronald Reagan on May 5, 1988. Reagan stated in his first proclamation, “Americans in every generation have turned to their Maker in prayer… We have acknowledged both our dependence on Almighty God and the help He offers us as individuals and as a Nation…”

The National Day of Prayer and its permanent observance has its roots in Christian labor and ideals. But as you can see, our freedoms to express our religion and to publicly pray together for our nation seem to be attacked more and more. But we still have the blessing of being able to come together in prayer for our town and nation. So don’t waste this opportunity.

Join us Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Magnolia High School Stadium for music, snacks, and of course prayer as our town gathers with our city leaders, law enforcement officials, pastors and many others to pray for our city and our nation. Don’t let this incredibly important day pass you by.

Editor’s Note: Wall helped found and is the current pastor of Magnolia Bible Church which currently meets in the West Montgomery County Community Development Center. Send comments to ConsiderThis@magnoliabible.org.